The LVC Tournament continues tonight in Ansley with two girls’ basketball games on the schedule. In Ansley tonight, #5 seed Twin Loup will face #4 Arcadia and #7 seed Anselmo-Merna takes on #2 seed Ansley.
Twin Loup (8-7) vs. Arcadia (10-8)
The Lady Wolves and Lady Huskies might have the most evenly matched game in the girls’ bracket. The last time these two teams played was in the Sandhills/Thedford Holiday Tournament. In that game, Twin Loup won 44-38 behind a 19-point performance from Rebecca Olson. While the Lady Wolves were ahead most of that game, Arcadia made a late surge in the fourth quarter with a big fourth quarter from Gabi Ritz and Shayla Trotter, who combined for nine of their 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Twin Loup is 5-3 against LVC opponents. They have had some ups and downs this past month. After losing to a very good D-2 team in Lindsay Holy Family, the Lady Wolves went on to win three straight games over North Central, Anselmo-Merna and then against a good Mullen team. Since that winning streak, they have lost two games in a row to CWC and Ansley. Both losses were double-digit losses.
Arcadia is 2-3 against the LVC. They got out to a fast start winning five in a row after starting 0-2. They have lost a few close games. In their first game of the season, they fell to Ansley 43-39. They had two close losses against LVC foes in their holiday tournament including the six point loss to Twin Loup and a one point loss to Litchfield. They also dropped a close game to S-E-M 31-30. Arcadia could be a dark horse in the tournament if they can hold Rebecca Olson in check tonight and control the tempo of the game.
Anselmo-Merna (1-14) vs. Ansley (14-2)
This is not a good match-up for Anselmo-Merna. They played Ansley earlier this season and lost 52-23. Ansley has a senior-laden line up, and ultimately it will come down to the experience of Ansley vs. the youth of Anselmo-Merna.
Ansley has played consistently well all season long. Their two losses came to good teams. They lost to Elba/North Loup-Scotia 57-50 and to Cedar Valley 42-37. Ansley does a great job protecting the basketball. They also have a good half-court offense and any starter is a threat to shoot at any time. They tend to do a lot of their scoring early in the games and this doesn’t bode well for opponents who end up playing from behind.
Anselmo-Merna is a team that is building toward the future. This season has been a learning curve for the young players. They have to work on protecting the basketball and not allowing turnovers to pile up. In a game earlier this season with Sandhills/Thedford, they turned the ball over 44 times. Against a top seeded team in the LVC, 44 turnovers won’t help a team that will likely be forced to match the offensive power that Ansley has. Anselmo-Merna is averaging 29.5 points per game, while Ansley is averaging 47 per game.